


Conversations for a Rainy Day

by AllieC



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Episode Tag, Episode: s01e04 Five Votes Down, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-10-20
Updated: 2008-10-20
Packaged: 2019-05-30 10:14:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15094610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AllieC/pseuds/AllieC
Summary: Who was Sarah Wessinger and why would anyone give Josh a smoking jacket? It's entirely out of character.





	Conversations for a Rainy Day

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

  
Author's notes: A post-post-post ep. Takes place after the Santos administation but is all about a certain smoking jacket.  
This was my very first fic.  


* * *

A wet, rainy spring day is the perfect day for old pictures and memories. It was no different in the Lyman household. An old trunk, full of mysteries is irresistible to a small child - particularly a child as inquisitive as a daughter of Josh Lyman and Donna Moss.

“Who’s that?” 9 year old Lea Joan asked her grandmother.

“Oh, that’s Sarah.” Norma Lyman answered as she turned the pages of the yellowed picture album. “Josh, do you remember Sarah Wessinger?”

“Huh” Josh lifted his head up from the armchair where he was sprawled out reading the Post.

“Sarah, Sarah Wessinger, you remember she was Joanie’s best friend” Norma said. 

Donna walked into the family room from the kitchen, “That name rings a bell, Josh. Why?”

“I haven’t seen these pictures in years, where did you find them?” Josh murmured taking the book from his mother.

“Lea found them in the bottom of my old trunk.” 

“These are really old.” Josh said, sitting back in the armchair, turning the pages.

“I know. They survived the fire.” 

“Wait,” Donna said “smoking jacket Sarah?”

“Sarah was Joanie’s best friend” Norma said. “They were always together. After the fire, we didn’t see each other too much. She was as devastated as though she’d lost her own sister. Sarah had always been shy, Donna and when she lost Joanie, she was so lost. I tried to reach out to her but I think it was too painful for both of us. In the end, her parents sent her to boarding school. I think they thought the change would be good. I’ve seen her occasionally over the years, though. She’s a good girl. She’s done good things with her life”

“So why did she give you that smoking jacket, Josh?” Donna wondered out loud

“It’s a long story.” Josh said. “I didn’t want to talk about it at the time. Sarah can be a pretty private person and as it was she was mortified when those disclosures were published”

“and Mandy didn’t make that easier on you, I’ll bet.” Donna thought.

“Daddy, tell us the story.” Lea said.

“Anything for you, pumpkin” Josh teased as he lifted her onto his lap with a brief groan. “Hey, you’re getting too big for me to hold you like this. Should we slow down your growth?”  
“Nope” Lea said pertly “I’m going to be just as tall as Mommy, maybe as tall as Aunt CJ”

Well, that’s OK then, keep right on growing.” and Josh turned to Donna, “anyway, it’s like this. Sarah and Joanie were 6 years older than me. They were always plotting something and when I was really little they loved to treat me as their personal baby doll to play with. That included dressing me up.”

“Ah, now I understand the career in ballet” Donna smirked.

“Oh, Donna, he was adorable.” Norma couldn’t stop chuckling at the memory of Josh dressed up in his sister’s tutu and pointe shoes. “Unfortunately, I have no pictures of those”

“Luckily for me, or they would have been all over the internet years ago” Josh sighed and continued, “but mostly, particularly when they were about 10 or 11…” 

“Hey, that’s almost my age” Lea cut in.

“Uh, uh, what’s the rule about cutting off grown-ups when they are speaking?” Donna said sternly.

“Wait ‘til people stop talking and then say excuse me… but that’s awfully hard because everybody who comes here talks a lot” Lea complained.

“Never mind, just remember you manners” Donna said.

“ANYWAY…do you want to hear this story or not” Josh groaned

“Yes, Daddy”  
“Yes, Josh” Donna rolled her eyes.

“Anyway, they loved to dress me up and include me in their games when I was little. So years later, I run into Sarah at a reunion at Harvard. It was one of those multi-year reunions… she had gotten her MBA there a few years before I’d gotten my degree. We had a few laughs and a couple of drinks. She reminded me of the tea parties she and Joanie used to have where they’d dress up in Mom’s old evening gowns and high heels. She said they were always challenged as to what to put me in. 

“That’s because he started rebelling about the tutu’s after a while” Norma grinned.

“Right, so we’re at this reunion, getting very silly and somehow we started talking about how Noel Coward-ish it could have been.”

“Hey, you even know of Noel Coward? I wouldn't think he’d be high up on your reading list” Donna smirked.

“Just when you think you know everything about me….”

“I do, that’s why I can make the joke. I’ve seen your copy of “Private Lives” Donna said.

“Required reading in school, Donna... So we’re talking and Sarah says what I needed for those tea parties was a smoking jacket and I jokingly said I’d need a cigarette holder to go with it. Now, here’s where you need to know that Sarah has done VERY well for herself. Her parents had money and she’s been a very successful investment banker AND she has a wicked sense of humor…”

“And the money to indulge it, apparently.” Donna interjected.

“So, anyway a few days later I get this package from her. It’s a silk smoking jacket and the scrimshaw cigarette holder. I called her and thanked her and we were making plans to just get together for drinks when Mandy comes up behind me.”

"Oh, boy, I see this coming." Donna thought.

“Mandy didn’t take the time to hear the whole story and I figured it wasn’t her business anyway.”

“So, the Wessingslut comments”  
“Yup”  
“Daddy, what’s a slut?” Lea asked  
“Something you’ll never be”, Josh said, kissing her forehead, “and something Sarah certainly never was”

“What happened to her, Josh?” Donna asked. “I can’t believe with all that history you’ve never seen her again and I’m sure I would have remembered meeting her.”

“You have, Sarah Wessinger Haussmann is the current Manhattan Borough President in New York.” 

“Wait, Sarah Haussmann is Sarah Wessinger…”  
“Yup”  
“You never told me.”  
“I’d forgotten all about that story until you reminded me today.” Josh said.

“Josh”, Norma interrupted, “What did you do with the jacket?”

“Well it’s really not me” Josh grinned.

“That would be an understatement.” Donna snarked. “So where is it?”

“I gave it to Sam.”


End file.
